Everett, MA Short-Term Rentals: Host Presence Rule (2026)

Section 12-1013(b)(1) of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Everett, Massachusetts (Middlesex County) makes host presence the starting rule. A residential unit where the operator or owner does not live in the unit, the building, or within the property, and where it is not the operator's primary residence, cannot be offered as a short-term rental. Two exits are printed: the property has employed a local and readily available professional property manager, or the unit qualifies under the exception for an existing non-owner-occupied unit in Section 12-1014.

The definitions in Section 12-1012 sort units by how present the host is. A home share unit is an entire unit that is the operator's primary residence. A limited share unit is the operator's primary residence with a portion rented while the operator is present. An owner-adjacent unit is not the owner's primary residence but sits within the same dwelling or property as the owner's primary residence. A non-owner-occupied unit is one where the operator or owner lives in neither the unit nor the building.

For non-owner-occupied units, Section 12-1014(d) makes the building commissioner the decision maker: the operator applies and names an acceptable local and readily available professional property manager, and approval is at the commissioner's discretion. Written approval from a condo or building association is also required where one exists, and only the entire unit can be rented, not individual rooms.

When the operator is not present during a stay, Section 12-1014(f) requires registration to list a person who can respond in person to issues or emergencies within two (2) hours of being notified, plus a telephone number active twenty-four (24) hours per day. Under Section 12-1015(f), an operator who stops being a primary resident must immediately notify the building commissioner so the unit comes off the registry.